Bodycam: Phoenix Police Save Newborn 'Clinging on to Life' after Mom Dies
What to know
- Phoenix police officers responding to a welfare check found a newborn baby alive but critically malnourished and dehydrated after being alone for days following the mother’s death.
- Officers forced their way into the home after neighbors reported accumulating packages and mail.
- The child was hospitalized in critical condition but is recovering.
By Helena Wegner
Source The Charlotte Observer
A newborn was found alone and “barely clinging on to life” in an Arizona home days after the child’s mom died, police said.
Officers responded to a welfare call at about 11 a.m. May 14, the Phoenix Police Department said in a June 26 Facebook post.
Concerned neighbors called police after not seeing the mom or her baby for days, police said. The neighbors also reported seeing packages piling up outside the home, Arizona’s Family reported.
Police body camera footage from that day shows officers looking through an open window into a home.
“The baby’s here. The baby is still alive,” one officer is heard saying once he sees the newborn.
The officers then went to the door and busted it open, the video shows.
One officer picks up the baby and puts the child in a stroller to be examined by first responders.
“The mom’s dead. The baby’s probably been there by itself for at least a week,” an officer is heard saying.
The child was “severely dehydrated, emaciated and barely clinging on to life,” police said.
The baby was taken to a hospital in critical condition but is expected to live as the child’s health has improved, police said.
The Phoenix Police Department did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for more information.
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